This application relates to a cleaner and method of use and, more particularly, to a cleaner and method for maintaining bearings, bushings, linkage pins and chains used in various types of machinery, including industrial machinery. Circuit breakers and switchgear mechanisms, discussed below, are used as examples only of machines that consist of many types of ball, roller, sleeve and bushing-type bearings and chains.
Circuit breakers, such as high voltage and medium voltage circuit breakers, are used in electrical transmission systems to protect electrical circuits from damage caused by overloads or short circuits. The circuit breakers include mechanisms that allow movement of a switch to interrupt the transmission of electricity therethrough. These mechanisms, example shown in FIG. 1 at reference numeral 10, include multiple bearings and joints to allow the switch to move easily and in a preferred amount of time.
Because circuit breakers are used to prevent damage caused by overloads or short circuits, it is important that the mechanism 10 operate properly and quickly. As the lubricant or grease in the mechanism ages, it dries up leaving a crusty residue that slows or prevents operation of the mechanism. As a result, the mechanism and its bearings must be properly maintained to prevent slow operation. Proper maintenance requires the bearings and bushings of the mechanism to be cleaned and lubricated regularly to renew the lubricants.
Unfortunately, the mechanisms 10 are not manufactured with grease fittings, which are common on most equipment requiring grease lubrication, to allow for maintenance on the bearings and bushings. As shown in FIG. 2, some bearings and bushings are easily accessed for maintenance, but, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, other bearings and bushings are very difficult to access. As a result of this access problem, cleaning and lubrication of critical locations is impossible without substantial mechanism disassembly which is often very difficult, requires skilled workers and considerable time, is costly, impractical because of worker availability and outage schedules for equipment, and in some cases results in these mechanisms not being maintained at normal maintenance intervals.
Discussions with utility companies indicate oils with penetrants are often used as: (1) a first line of response when there is a slow trip, (2) routine lubricant for the breaker mechanism when other maintenance is being performed, (3) life extension measure, (4) method to free stuck components, and (5) cleaner. Laboratory tests demonstrate that oils with penetrants partially dissolve grease, which then coagulates again after the solvent in the penetrant evaporates.
Accordingly, there is a need for a cleaner and method that prevents grease from coagulating after solvents evaporate. This extends the interval between conventional mechanism re-lubrications and reduces the number of slow trips caused by lubrication issues.